Lonely and Isolated

shawnspencer
Thu, 11 Jan 2018 06:32:15 +0000

See if you can join clubs that are purely social clubs or “just for fun.” Sometimes I have found that purpose driven organizations such as journalism are great, but don’t necessarily lead to a great deal of social activity or bonding outside of stressing over the next deadline or work-based relationships. If there are any opportunities to make study groups, take them or just start small talk with some people sitting next to you before class starts.

In my introductory geology class of about 100 people, each day it felt like I sat next to someone different until one day I sat next to this girl who was also in my grade. Out of the blue, I asked if she would like to study together or work on the next problem set together. We later became good friends with similar interests (not geology) and the relationship blossomed from there.

If you have a car and most people don’t, you can offer rides to people and get them to hangout spots you may not be able to go to normally. Clubs are always looking for other ways to be social, and if you can help facilitate that, it is a great way to meet people.

Outside of that, be open to new experiences and honestly don’t stress about it too much. It often comes in spontaneous and unexpected ways, but try and put yourself out there a bit.